Starkey stepping aside as 49ers' radio voice

After more than 20 years as the radio voice of the 49ers, Joe Starkey is signing off.

The play-by-play man announced Thursday that he will step aside after this season, saying his voice and body were having a hard time keeping up with his demanding travel schedule.

Starkey will continue to serve as the voice for Cal football games, a role he has filled since 1975.

But years of all-night flights and no sleep on weekends were catching up to him.

"I've been at this for so long that it was just beginning to take a toll, physically," Starkey said. "I just knew that something had to give. It was just a case of which (team)."

Starkey had been one of a handful of announcers in the country who pulled college and NFL double duty.

Because Starkey traveled on commercial airlines, getting from a Cal game to the 49ers game was often an epic adventure.

After once covering a game in Corvallis, Ore., he drove to Portland to catch an all-night flight to Chicago, then drove to Green Bay, Wis.

It was a blast.

But it's over.

"I've actually thought about this for a couple of years," Starkey said, pausing to gather his emotions. "One way or another, one team had to go. That was really hard, because this has been very special."

Starkey started doing 49ers broadcasts in 1987 and spent two years as the sideline reporter. Starting in '89, he became the play-by-play man.

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"Our fan base owes Joe a great debt of gratitude," said Andy Dolich, the 49ers' chief operating officer. "And he's been lucky enough to see some of the greatest moments in this franchise's history."

Starkey, who is believed to be 67 (he wouldn't say), is more famous for his work at Cal. His enduring call of "The Play" from the 1982 Big Game — a frantic description of a multi-lateral play that finished with the Stanford band on the field — will be rerun as long as college football is played.

But this year's Big Game turned out to be the breaking point in his 49ers career. Cal's game against Stanford wrapped up about 4:30 p.m. Because getting to Dallas and back was a headache, he didn't sleep again until Monday morning. He wound up so sick that he had to sit out the 49ers game in Buffalo the following week — the first game he ever missed in his career. Starkey was so ill that he missed the next game as well.

That's when he decided enough was enough.

"My family has been on this for several years, saying, 'Why are you doing this?' " Starkey said. "I said, 'I love it. It's a great opportunity.'

"I'm one of the few guys in the history of this business that has had the opportunity to do two football teams every weekend for as long as I have. There used to be a time when quite a few of us did a college game on Saturday and a pro game on Sunday. I'm one of the last ones still out there because of the demands of the profession."

Starkey's last game will be a Dec. 28 home game against the Washington Redskins.

Dolich did not announce a replacement, saying that the decision would be made after the season. Dolich said the plan is for Gary Plummer, the color analyst, to return for a 12th season.